Edithburgh
Town
Edith Street
Edithburgh
Coordinates:35°05′0″S137°44′0″E / 35.08333°S 137.73333°E /-35.08333; 137.73333
Country	Australia
State	South Australia
Region	Yorke and Mid North[1]
LGA	Yorke Peninsula Council
Location	226 km (140 mi) W ofAdelaide 141 km (88 mi) S ofKadina 45 km (28 mi) SE ofMinlaton
Established	1869
Government
• State electorate	Narungga[2]
• Federal division	Grey[3]
Population
• Total	497 (UCL2021)[5]
Postcode	5583
County	Fergusson[6]
Mean max temp	20.5 °C (68.9 °F)[7]
Mean min temp	12.1 °C (53.8 °F)[7]
Annual rainfall	377.6 mm (14.87 in)[7]
Localities around Edithburgh Yorketown Coobowie Gulf St Vincent Yorketown Edithburgh Gulf St Vincent Honiton Gulf St Vincent Sultana Point
Adjoining localities[8][9]

Edithburgh/ˈiːdɪθbɜːrɡ/ is a small town on the south-east corner ofYorke Peninsula situated on the coastline of Salt Creek Bay, in the state ofSouth Australia. Edithburgh is about 50 km (31 mi) west ofAdelaide acrossGulf St Vincent, but 226 km (140 mi) away by road.

Edithburgh is in theYorke Peninsula Council, theSouth Australian House of Assemblyelectoral district of Narungga and theAustralian House of RepresentativesDivision of Grey.

In theNarangga language of the IndigenousNarungga people, Edithburgh was known by the place namePararmarati.^[10] Some sources give the pronunciation "Barram-marrat-tee".^[11]

The first European pioneers arrived in the 1840s and were sheep graziers and pastoralists. With closer settlement, in 1869 the Marine Board fixed a site for a jetty to service the developing farming district. An adjacent town was then surveyed, the layout closely emulating (on a smaller scale) that ofAdelaide, with a belt of parklands. Edithburgh was named by GovernorSir James Fergusson after his wife Edith, who died in 1871. The new jetty opened in 1873.^[11]

From 20 to 21 November 2019, at least 11 homes were destroyed or damaged by fires burning across the Yorke Peninsula. On 21 November, a stubble fire threatened Edithburgh,Coobowie andWool Bay as it burnt towards the coast, fanned by strong south-westerly winds. At the height of the emergency, many residents of the area took shelter overnight in the Edithburgh Town Hall.^[12][13][14] There were no deaths, and it was found to have been caused by a power network fault.^[15]

Edithburgh originally developed as a port for servicing the pastoralist pioneers. In the 1870s grain farming became a mainstay of the local economy, which it still is. At the turn of the 20th Century additional industries were established in the form of gypsum mining andsalt refining. There are vast salt lakes in the area, from which salt was scraped and exported as far asRussia. Among those refineries was the Standard Salt Company, operated byC. T. McGlew. The jetty became a busy hub for exporting these commodities, as well as unloading supplies.^{[citation needed]}

Nowadays the jetty is used mostly for recreational fishing and is a popularscuba diving site. There is also a small fishing and prawning fleet based there. The town is now overshadowed by the 55 wind turbines of theWattle Point Wind Farm, located southwest of the town and opened in April 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Occupying a commanding position on the coastline at semi-circular Salt Creek Bay, Edithburgh is noted for its magnificent seascapes which include steep rocky cliffs and sandy beaches.Troubridge Island can be seen offshore. As a result, tourism is now a growth industry. It is a popular holiday destination with a variety of accommodation types available including a caravan park. The Troubridge Hotel and the Edithburgh Hotel sit diagonally opposite each other at the intersection of Blanche and Edith Streets, both named afterGovernor Fergusson's daughters.

For those who prefer not to swim in the open sea, the town has a unique seawater swimming pool constructed at the shoreline. Its sheltered waters are refreshed with each rising tide.^[16]

Edithburgh jetty is regarded as one of South Australia's best scuba diving sites.^[17] Access is easy thanks to steps on northern and southern sides of the structure.^[18]

The jetty extends eastwards intoGulf St Vincent and is 170 m in length. The jetty is supported by pylons in groups of four.^[18] Divers and snorkellers can safely and closely observe dense, multi-coloured colonies of temperate corals and sponges on the jetty pylons. The pylons also provide refuges for various fish,crustacea,nudibranchs and othermarine invertebrates.

Several of the state's iconic marine species can be seen beneath or near the jetty, including theLeafy sea dragon and theStriped pyjama squid.^[19][20]

The maximum dive depth is 10–12 m and site is rewarding for visitors of all experience levels.^[21]

In December 2013, maintenance works were conducted at the Edithburgh jetty by a contractor working for the local council. An estimated 50 jetty pylons were removed from the periphery of the jetty. They were either sawed off at the seabed, or pulled up from the substrate. This resulted in an immediate loss ofhabitat andmarine life, upsetting many members of thescuba diving andmarine conservation community.^[24][25]

Jetty pylons had been assessed some years prior by the State Government's Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (now known as the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure) and identified as a public liability risk. Impacts to the marine environment or the site's iconic status as a dive tourism hotspot do not appear to have been considered by DPTI or the local council.

Recreational divers fromM.E. Dive Club witnessed the early works and arranged a group of divers to informally assess the damage the following weekend. The pylon removal works were not publicly advertised nor was the dive or tourism community consulted on the works. TheScuba Divers Federation of South Australia and theMarine Life Society of South Australia both responded to the issue by drafting letters to responsible Government bodies.^[26]

• 
  Seahorse beneath Edithburgh Jetty
• 
  Striped Pyjama squid mating under Edithburgh jetty
• 
  Hermit crab beneath Edithburgh jetty
• 
  Rock ling beneath Edithburgh jetty
• 
  Sunrise over the boat harbour
• 
  Edithburgh coastline at sunset
• 
  Edith St at sunset, looking from the jetty
• 
  Edithburgh jetty at night
• 
  Edithburgh jetty approaching sunset

• Jamie Tape - AFL footballer

• List of cities and towns in South Australia

Notes

Citations

Wikimedia Commons has media related toEdithburgh, South Australia.

• Edithburgh travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Edithburgh Jetty travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Yorke Peninsula: Edithburgh
• Scuba Diving the Edithburgh Jetty from Diving Adelaide

• Towns in South Australia
• Yorke Peninsula
• Coastal towns in South Australia
• Gulf St Vincent
• Port cities and towns in South Australia
• Underwater diving sites in Australia
• Fishing communities in Australia

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• Coordinates on Wikidata
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